The present invention concerns a device for stopping doors and relates in particular to an accessory especially useful to stop a door in a partly or fully open position.
Door stops of various kinds have been known for some time. These devices are used to hold doors in a desired position overcoming the force exerted on them by wind and drafts blowing from one room to another or by any other of numerous factors.
The first devices of this kind were designed to be screwed, bolted or glued to the door and consisted basically of two elements, the first element being used to support the second which was designed to slide up and down (or rotate) in the first and to press against the floor. An example of one of these devices is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,574 which consists of a plurality of interconnected elements, the bottom one of which has, at its lower end, a small pad made of resilient material with a high friction coefficient. The said elements are shaped and interconnected in such a manner as to constantly exert a downward force which keeps the said bottom element against the floor. Although this type of device serves its purpose, the fact that the bottom element is permanently pressed against the floor gives rise to a number of disadvantages. The stopping action not only keeps the door open when it needs to stay open but also makes it difficult to close it when it needs to be closed. In addition, after being used for some time, it tends to scratch and score the floor.
Another disadvantage of this kind of device is that it must be attached to the door itself and fitting it causes irreversible damage to the surface of the door.
The market has therefore turned towards door stops which do not need to be attached to the door, such as, for example, the one described in German Patent application No. 2,447,882 which consists of a single, gently sloping, wedge-shaped element designed to be inserted into the gap between the bottom edge of the door and the floor. This type of device is fairly effective but, because the gap between the door and the floor is usually very narrow, it tends to slide out rather easily. Canadian patent No. 1,021,116 discloses yet another type of door stop consisting of a high-friction, resilient element designed to be fitted over the bottom edge of a door and to press permanently against the floor. This resilient element presents the same disadvantage as that of the aforementioned U.S. patent in that it provides a stopping action not only when the door has to stay open but also when the user wishes to close it.